The Cheviot Hills

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

This edition is copyright © The Editors of the Gazetteer for Scotland, 2002-2022.

It has taken much time and money to make the six-volumes of Groome's text freely accessible. Please help us continue and develop by making a donation. If only one out of every ten people who view this page gave £5 or $10, the project would be self-sustaining. Sadly less than one in thirty-thousand contribute, so please give what you can.

Use the tabs on the right of this page to see other parts of this entry Arrow

Cheviots, a broad range of lofty hills, extending from Cheviot Hill, 25 miles south-westward along the English Border, to Peel Fell, whence another range-included sometimes in the general name of Cheviots-strikes westward to the Lowthers, parting Liddesdale and Eskdale from Teviotdale. Cheviot itself (2676 feet), the highest summit of the range, belongs to England, lying fully a mile within Northumberland, 7 miles SW of Wooler; but Auchopecairn (2422 feet), Windygate Hill (2034), Hungry Law (1645), Carter Fell (1899), and Peel Fell (1964), may be called 'debatable points,' as they culminate exactly on the Border. The outlines of the hills are for the most part rounded; often they stand skirt to skirt, or shoulder to shoulder, like clustering cones. The principal pass is that of Carter Bar. The prevailing rock is porphyritic trap, and the soil, over great part of the surface, bears a rich greensward, excellent for sheep pasture. The highest portions, to a great extent, are heath; and considerable tracts, on the slopes or in the hollows, are bog. The chief streams on the Scottish side are the Hermitage and the Liddel, going towards the Solway Firth; the Teviot and the Beaumont going towards the Tweed. The golden eagle is now no longer seen; gone is the 'great plenty of redd dere and roe buckes,' mentioned in Leland's Itinerary; but grouse are fairly abundant, and the famous white-faced breed of Cheviot sheep is pastured in large flocks. Many are the Cheviots' memories of invasions, of reivers' raids, and of smuggling frays; but these will be noticed under the parishes of Yetholm, Morebattle, Hounam, Jedburgh, Southdean, and Castleton.—Ord. Sur., shs- 18,17,1863-64.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer

If you have found this information useful please consider making
a donation to help maintain and improve this resource. More info...

By using our site you agree to accept cookies, which help us serve you better